More than 80 public works projects suspended in parliamentary precinct because of COVID-19

Remediation and excavation work in front of the 100-year old Centre Block building continues while Parliament is effectively shut down by COVID-19, but the federal department in charge of the massive job has temporarily demobilized 85 other projects throughout the parliamentary precinct.

Public Services and Procurement Canada came under political fire from the Conservative Party last month when two news reports highlighted that the excavation, and other separate work inside the Centre Block, was going ahead — despite an Ontario government halt on many types of construction, in conformity with physical distancing regimes to curb the spread of COVID-19.

Saskatchewan Conservative Senator Denise Batters accused Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of “ordering hundreds of construction workers to be on the job for a project that isn’t even slated to be finished for more than 10 years,” as CBC News reported at the time.

In an exchange of emails with iPolitics over the past week, the department, known for years as Public Works and Government Services, argued that the nature of the work allows workers to avoid contravention of COVID-19 safety rules — and that hazardous work in the building involved use of the kind of protective gear that offers a defence against the potentially deadly virus.

“Much of the activity is relatively isolated and can be performed without the need for close interactions with other workers,” PSPC spokesperson Michele LaRose said. “Hazardous material abatement being performed in the building’s upper levels is already performed in a tightly controlled environment which includes full respirators for all workers within these work areas.”

Heavy machinery operators involved in excavation work out front of the building do their job within the closed cabins of giant excavators, LaRose continued, adding that drivers of the heavy-duty trucks hauling away earth also work alone in closed cabs.

“Face covering protocols are also being implemented as an additional safety and proactive measure to help ensure the safety of workers,” LaRose said. Another spokesperson, Stéfanie Hamel, later added that though federal construction projects don’t fall under provincial authority, PSPC was reducing its construction activity in the name of “interjurisdictional cooperation.”

Meanwhile, the department revealed for the first time to iPolitics that it has “temporarily demobilized” approximately 85 other projects within Parliament’s entire precinct, which includes any buildings, or nearby sites off Parliament Hill proper, that contain offices for senators, Members of Parliament, staff, security and Commons administration officials.

The department cited, as examples, masonry maintenance at the stone building that houses the permanent Office of the Prime Minister and the Privy Council Office on Wellington St., and the exterior of the early 20th Century National Press Building — which also serves Senate employees, security officials and members of he Canadian Parliamentary Press Gallery.

The department also suspended ceiling and radiator repairs in Confederation Building, one of the main historic buildings that contains MP offices just off Parliament Hill. East Block interior drywall repairs in East Block and marble stone repairs in the Sir John A. Macdonald Building — a heritage original bank building that, only a few years ago, underwent a sweeping overhaul and extension to house a giant ballroom that serves for Parliamentary social events.

The department disclosed that the archeological investigations taking place as the excavation continues have unearthed foundation remnants of original and modified stairways and porches from the original Centre Block, destroyed by fire in the middle of the First World War, and the remains of a fountain foundation.